Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast Podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message.
[00:00:08] Amen.
[00:00:10] So many nuggets and communion and offering. How good was that?
[00:00:14] Hopefully we'll be hearing Mrs. Caitlin Self. Mrs. Caitlin Self preach sometime soon. She's a preacher. She's a good preacher at that. Like, good preacher. Amen.
[00:00:28] Well, worship team, thank you. It was phenomenal. Phenomenal. And thank you all for being here this morning. I say often out of anywhere that you guys can be you. You choose to be here. Even on a beautiful sunshiny blue sky day.
[00:00:47] Amen. That we are gathered in the house of the Lord. And it's good to gather and dwell together in community and in unity. Amen.
[00:00:59] For we know that where there is unity, God commands a blessing. Amen.
[00:01:05] I'm going to move this over. I feel like I'm.
[00:01:12] There we go. No, that's perfect. Amen. Amen.
[00:01:15] All right. Well, Father, I just thank you and I give you glory.
[00:01:21] I thank you for your goodness. I thank you for your love.
[00:01:25] I thank you for every good and perfect gift that we have.
[00:01:29] I thank you that all of your promises. We say yes and amen to Father.
[00:01:35] Father, the world may be dull and dim and craziness going on in the world, but that's not where we reside. As Simon says said in team huddle this morning, we are seated in a heavenly realm. So I thank you that that's our seat. And that's not only our seat, but that is our position that we are not of this world. You know, we. We are of an eternal life giving spirit of God.
[00:02:08] And I thank you, Jesus, for all that that you did for us. I thank you for all that you continue to do for us. You still intercede for us. You still are at the right hand of the Father and you make intercession for us even now.
[00:02:27] Father, thank you. The greatest setup ever for us was Jesus.
[00:02:33] So I thank you that that is our position.
[00:02:36] I thank you that we labor to rest in his finished works. For, Father, there's nothing more to do or to complete. Jesus completed it all and now we have access to every favor and every promise.
[00:02:51] So, Father, I just thank you and I give you glory for it. It's in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray. Amen and amen and amen.
[00:03:01] Well, your pastor's in the air. He is on his way home. Amen.
[00:03:09] Amen. I'm sure he has stories to tell for a very, very, very long time. They.
[00:03:17] I mean Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, Herod's tomb.
[00:03:22] I mean, the Mount Sinai, the. The split rocks. And. And it just goes on and on and on of all that they explored in the Holy Land. And. And I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful to God for his gift to my husband.
[00:03:41] And I'm. I'm just truly, truly, truly grateful. But he's coming back home and we couldn't be more excited.
[00:03:53] Amen. And Amen. So this is part three. I've been ministering on thankfulness or Thanksgiving, and this morning is part of part three. Now, if you have not heard part one and part two, we do have podcast. World Changers is on podcast. You can go and listen to part one and part two.
[00:04:15] And you know, I started the thankfulness years ago during COVID when we popped up video and I did a one message on thankfulness. And then when Kyle went to Israel, he said, you know, do you have three. Three parts to preach? And I was like, oh, I feel like I need to preach on thankfulness, but it's only a one part. And I started digging and let me tell you the treasures I have found. And there's still more treasures. Amen.
[00:04:47] Amen. So just a quick recap. Sermon number one. The Hebrew root word of thankfulness is todot T O D A H Two weeks ago, we learned that this word means a sacrifice of praise to give thanks to God even before the answer comes.
[00:05:08] We discovered in the old covenant, Thanksgiving was part of the key to entering into God's gates. There were sacrifices, external sacrifices that had to be made in order to go into the presence of God. Not only was there a sacrifice or a sacrifice that had to be made which was part of the peace offering, it had to be done a specific way with the oil and what was leavened and what was unleavened. And. And then on top of that, then you had to eat everything in one day. So no leftovers to that. Amen.
[00:05:46] But under the new covenant, Jesus himself is the gate.
[00:05:52] He was and is the final sacrifice.
[00:05:56] So we now are in a new covenant because of Jesus. And we learn that thanksgiving isn't just what we say. It's who we are. We are a living sacrifice because of Jesus on the inside of us now. We live as a sacrifice. We live in thankfulness. We live in praise because of Jesus. We are that living sacrifice. And. And so we continually give praise to God even when the fig tree doesn't blossom. As the prophet Habakkuk had said, even though I will still rejoice, even though I will still give you thanks, so gratitude, we said, is not after the victory, it is the victory. Thankfulness is not looking for victory. You, it is the victory because of Jesus.
[00:06:52] Now sermon number two. We talked about our example, Jesus, Jesus being an example of thanksgiving. We looked at how Jesus himself lived a lifestyle of thanksgiving when he was on this earth. We talked about he gave thanks before the bread multiplied, when there was 4,000 plus women and children and 5,000 plus women and children that he needed to feed.
[00:07:19] And in this he thanked God and the provision came even before Lazarus rose. When Lazarus was dead, he gave thanks and Lazarus rose from the dead.
[00:07:36] And also with Jesus before the cross when he went and when he took communion with the disciples, he gave thanks to God before he went to the cross and before the covenant was sealed. So not only that, we talked about how the lepers, there were 10 lepers that went to to Jesus and all nine got healed. But the one that came back and said, master, thank you, he was then made whole. So we talked about the difference of that one leper that gave than even when he had victory. He gave thanks and he was moved. He was then experienced a realm of wholeness. Not just healing wholeness, potentially limbs grew back and provision was restored. And it was a complete wholeness. Nothing missing and nothing broken.
[00:08:31] So we learned that gratitude and thankfulness is the atmosphere of miracles. And that thanksgiving, thanksgiving calls heaven into motion here on this earth. Amen.
[00:08:44] So now part three.
[00:08:47] You ready for this?
[00:08:50] We're going to close this off by talking about a lifestyle of thankfulness.
[00:08:56] This series is. We're going to see how thankfulness is not just an action, it's a lifestyle.
[00:09:04] We are living sacrifices. And I want to first start. This may be a little bit out of order, but Hebrews 13:15, this is such the perfect scripture to begin with.
[00:09:19] Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
[00:09:31] And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need.
[00:09:35] These are the sacrifices that please God.
[00:09:40] So this scripture is saying that. Let's go back to 15, break it down just a little bit.
[00:09:46] We are to offer through Jesus, because we are a living sacrifice. We are to offer a continual sacrifice, a prayer, praise to God, a continual thanksgiving to God.
[00:10:02] And then it goes on. In 16 it says, because we are living sacrifices, don't forget to do good and to share those in need. These are the sacrifices that pleases God.
[00:10:15] So your life, your lifestyle, is to continually give thanks to God.
[00:10:22] Gratitude and thankfulness is so a part of God's word will. And we're going to talk about how it produces peace, how it strengthens faith, and how it becomes the rhythm of the believer's daily walk.
[00:10:36] So now let's go to First Thessalonians 5:18. Those of you that know me know that I love to give scripture and I all I give lots and lots and lots of scripture.
[00:10:50] So, yeah, let's start in 16 and then we'll travel down to 18. It says this always be joyful.
[00:10:58] Never stop praying.
[00:11:01] Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you. He belonged to Christ Jesus.
[00:11:10] So. So the Bible is instructions. It says, be thankful.
[00:11:17] Pray always and be thankful.
[00:11:22] Never stop praying and be thankful in all circumstances.
[00:11:27] It doesn't say, when things are good and when you have your victory, be thankful in all circumstances.
[00:11:35] Habakkuk the prophet Habakkuk said it best. Even though I don't have it yet, even though I'm not in the place place of wholeness and restoration, even though I'm not there yet. And what God has shown me, we are to give thanks in all circumstances.
[00:11:56] A lot of us, and I get it, me too have said, God, what is your will for my life?
[00:12:05] What is your will for my life? This scripture says it beautifully.
[00:12:10] Be thankful in all circumstances.
[00:12:15] So I asked the Lord, I said, well, why hear God? You know, we often tie God's will to what we do here on this earth.
[00:12:24] But he said it, I have good plans for you.
[00:12:28] Trust in me, acknowledge me, and I will direct your path. That's part of the done.
[00:12:36] That's part of the done.
[00:12:39] So when you align yourself to the be thankful in all circumstances, you then are in a realm of, oh, I hear God. He's directing my step daily. I'm walking by faith daily. Because that becomes a part of who you are.
[00:12:58] That becomes a part of who you are. You're in this rhythm of grace. Grace that no matter what you see in him, you live, you move, you. Have you ever. You're. You're very being Jesus, you said, yes, I'm left. I go left. Just like a GPS that navigates you.
[00:13:18] But first, Thessalonians 5:18 makes it so clear. The will of God for us in Christ Jesus is to give thanks in every circumstance. Now I'm going to break this down even more.
[00:13:33] Amen in just a moment.
[00:13:36] This means, as living sacrifices, we live in a heart posture of thankfulness and gratitude. We are walking in the very center of God's will in this realm of thankfulness and gratitude.
[00:13:53] If you think about a compass, and he set a compass. Thanksgiving re. Centers us towards God.
[00:14:01] I think that there's so much more that I cannot even naturally explain to you about this realm of thankfulness that's only.
[00:14:11] That's just so supernatural that I have not the human words to even put to this realm of thankfulness and the magnitude of the importance of it.
[00:14:25] But I believe that Jesus connects us to the Father, but it's thankfulness that keeps us connected not only to the Father, but to each other as well. We're going to talk about that in just a moment.
[00:14:45] I believe, as Caitlin said this morning about revival, I believe, and I have a word. Word I'm going to release at the end. But I believe that thankfulness will revive you.
[00:14:59] I believe that if there's patterns of this wilderness, of going round and around and around, and everywhere I go, it's the same thing. Everywhere, everything I do, it's the same thing.
[00:15:13] The children of Israel, when they left Israel, Egypt, they were in the wilderness. Same thing, round and around and around. And when. When Pastor Kyle comes back, I'm very interested to ask him, what is the distance from Egypt to that promised land?
[00:15:32] But for 40 years, it was round and around and around and around. They never entered into the promised land because they were murmuring. They were completely complaining.
[00:15:44] Even today we murmur, we complain. We're the critics. You know, Google rating. Oh, I don't like that church. It's a one because of this and that and that. What?
[00:15:57] Sorry, that's not my message.
[00:16:01] I don't even know our rating. I don't really care what our rating is. I don't live by rating. I've lived by his spirit. And I believe the spirit. Spirits here. Amen.
[00:16:11] I don't. Somebody give us a bad rating because I have no idea.
[00:16:16] Okay, five stars. This is good. Amen.
[00:16:19] Didn't even know.
[00:16:21] Don't know where that came from. But anyway, back to my message.
[00:16:25] But I believe that Thanksgiving will revive you when you can allow your heart to be so transformed, so redeemed. The condemnation is gone. The old patterns are gone. The old thought processes are gone because you are renewed and transformed into the likeness of Christ. Jesus identity. Poof, you're there. You have it.
[00:16:58] Jesus connected us.
[00:17:00] Thanksgiving keeps us connected to the Father and to each other.
[00:17:06] But I believe thankfulness will revive you. It will refresh you and it will make room for. The more we saw that with Jesus Caitlin talked about, the more this morning we saw that with Jesus, there was lack. He gave thanks to God, needed The provision and boom, more, boom, more.
[00:17:32] We are to live from the place of continual overflow. Even though we are pouring out and ministering to so many people, we're just making room for more and more. We never run dry living from this place of thankfulness and thanksgiving.
[00:17:53] It's the will of God for our lives.
[00:17:59] And the children of Israel murmuring and complaining in the wilderness to enter into the Promised Land. There was a land, the Promised Land.
[00:18:09] And today in the New Covenant, a lot of people say, I don't know who this, this is not in my notes. Lord, I am on a time limit. But the people talk about the wilderness.
[00:18:23] Oh, I'm in the wilderness.
[00:18:25] I'm just here in the wilderness. I've been in the wilderness for 10 years.
[00:18:33] We are in the Promised Land. Hello, people.
[00:18:37] We are in the Promised Land. The Promised Land has to be here in your thinking and your thoughts. The Promised Land has to be your identity. Because of Jesus, we are in the promise Promised Land. We don't have to step into it. Jesus, you're my Lord and savior. Boom. Promised Land.
[00:18:56] Because all of his promises are yes and amen.
[00:19:01] But the wilderness thinking, the wilderness believing, the wilderness doing.
[00:19:12] I've been there. I've been there. I put myself in the cave, in a cave, in a cave and said, no God, no God, no God. I'm just in a cave. I'm not going to prophesy and release that. Lord, I'm just in the cave.
[00:19:31] What?
[00:19:33] What was I doing?
[00:19:37] Why?
[00:19:39] What?
[00:19:41] Now there's a timing to release. But what, What?
[00:19:46] I mean, this message has revived me, guys.
[00:19:50] I'm like, what? What am I doing?
[00:19:54] I've had the biggest awakening in my spirit, my heart.
[00:20:03] I'm like, what am I doing?
[00:20:07] I mean, like, what am I doing?
[00:20:10] There's things in my day that I'm like, what am I doing?
[00:20:15] That's for another time.
[00:20:20] Gratitude, obedience.
[00:20:23] Like a compass.
[00:20:25] Gratitude, thankfulness.
[00:20:27] Recenter. Centers us in God, connects us, keeps us, revives us, refreshes us. We'll make room for more.
[00:20:40] You know, pilots, when they fly an airplane, they have this thing that they call true north.
[00:20:47] Some of you may be a pilot and understand more than me, but they set all their instruments to what's called true north.
[00:20:55] Why? I believe gratitude and thankfulness should be the believer's true north.
[00:21:03] It keeps us aligned to God's will.
[00:21:06] So when we are being joyful, when we are praying always, and when we are giving thanks in every circumstance, it's like, oh, yeah, do this.
[00:21:19] Speak to this person.
[00:21:21] Do this, go here, go there.
[00:21:27] It's good.
[00:21:28] Takes the pressure off, doesn't it?
[00:21:31] But gratitude also brings Peace.
[00:21:35] Philippians 4, 6, 7 says this. Don't worry about anything.
[00:21:43] I mean, just don't worry about anything.
[00:21:45] Instead, pray about everything.
[00:21:48] Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done done.
[00:21:56] Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
[00:22:06] We're trying to understand it. And it's like, experience it.
[00:22:11] His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
[00:22:18] So with gratitude, prayer can be a complaint. Hello, I've been there. But God, they don't understand. But God, this didn't happen. But God, I don't have it. But God, why God? Thank you.
[00:22:33] Thank you, Lord, for all that you've done.
[00:22:35] I mean, back in the old times, they set up stones to remember all that God did. But we are to remember all that God did. God, you brought me from there to here.
[00:22:48] We had nothing. My mom was so mad at me for coming with children. No house, no car, no school.
[00:22:56] Didn't know anyone here. She wanted to take my kids away from me. God bless her.
[00:23:01] True story.
[00:23:03] You can't go without having a home. You can't go without having a car. You can't go with limited money.
[00:23:11] We had very little money.
[00:23:13] You can't go without a school to put your boys in. What are you going to do? I don't know, God.
[00:23:20] But just watch and see God work.
[00:23:24] True story.
[00:23:26] And she got to experience that.
[00:23:29] There was a day that she said, wow, Tina, I can't believe all that God has done in your life.
[00:23:38] Beautiful moment.
[00:23:41] But without gratitude, prayer can become a complaint.
[00:23:46] With gratitude, prayer produces peace.
[00:23:50] Acts 16 and 25, Paul and Silas sang in prison, and the prison shook. Gratitude, thankfulness, praise. It brought a freedom to them.
[00:24:01] And not only does gratitude and thankfulness bring about peace, but it also strengthens faith.
[00:24:10] Man, this was a beautiful scripture. Colossians 2, 7.
[00:24:14] I'm stuck here. I get stuck on scriptures.
[00:24:18] Sometimes people think it's about reading the. The lot of scriptures, but you know what? It's about taking the scripture, anchoring in it, and beginning to live it.
[00:24:31] Amen. So I'm now anchored on this one. This is my new anchor. It says, let your roots grow deep in him. Actually, I want to back up. Let's go back to.
[00:24:44] Oh, which one was it?
[00:24:50] Can we get a five?
[00:24:54] See what five says? No? Okay.
[00:24:57] All right. Let's just start here. Colossians 2, 6, and 7. And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him.
[00:25:11] Sometimes we stop there.
[00:25:14] Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on Him.
[00:25:22] Then your faith will grow strong in the truth that you were taught.
[00:25:27] And you will overflow with thankfulness.
[00:25:33] And then you will overflow with. With thankfulness.
[00:25:39] So receive him, follow Him. Allow your roots to grow down in Him. How do I allow my roots to go down in Him? Be discipled in the Word of God. I have so many notes here. Be discipled in the Word of God. Be a student of the Word of God. Connect with Him. Talk to Him. Prayer is conversation with Him.
[00:26:04] Open yourself up to hear him, to experience him and all of who he is.
[00:26:12] But faith grows in the soil of thanksgiving. How beautiful is that?
[00:26:17] Let your lives be built on him, built in Him. Let your roots go down into Him.
[00:26:25] Then you will have strong faith.
[00:26:29] Then you will have strong faith.
[00:26:33] You will grow strong in the truth you will taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
[00:26:40] The greatest transformation there transformed from the inside out.
[00:26:46] You know, I had a lady years ago, I was quite young in the Lord, and they asked me to do a prayer line. And she said, I want to pray for more faith. My request is, is more faith. And here I am like, I don't know, Lord. The pressure of what do I say? How do I pray? And then I remember the Scripture. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God.
[00:27:12] We have to hear the Word of God, we have to read the Word of God, and then we will overflow in thankfulness.
[00:27:21] It's not an occasional thanksgiving, but it's a continual lifestyle. Ephesians 3:20 says, Give thanks always and for everything to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:27:36] So gratitude not only brings peace and strengthens faith, but it brings us from complaining into thanksgiving. The greatest shift.
[00:27:46] The greatest shift can happen in your life.
[00:27:51] See, the opposite of gratitude is not silence. It's complaining. It's murmuring and it's strife. It's criticism. And these, these.
[00:28:03] These are not just harmful habits, but they are spiritual toxins.
[00:28:11] The Bible says so.
[00:28:15] It short circuits faith and it invites confusion.
[00:28:20] Philippians 2:14 and 15 says this.
[00:28:25] I want a shift to happen in the body of Christ.
[00:28:28] This may not be you guys here. I think you guys are perfect. I'm like a mama with all their kids, you know, Even though some of you are a lot older, but I think you all are perfect and you do nothing wrong. So when I read scriptures like this, I'm like you. This must be for the other people that's listening to the podcast. Amen. We love you guys too, you know. And you guys are perfect as well, whoever's listening on the podcast. But it says do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you.
[00:29:03] What?
[00:29:05] What?
[00:29:08] I'm not going there. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
[00:29:21] See, when we jump into the complaining, murmuring and criticism and arguing, we're jumping in just like everybody else in the world.
[00:29:30] And then they then are going to label you as well of like. Well, you're just like everybody else.
[00:29:37] What's so different about you and your God? Because you're complaining and murmuring, but live clean, live innocent lives as children of God.
[00:29:48] This is how we shine like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people that are complaining and murmuring and criticizing.
[00:30:01] This is how we live. Set apart numbers 14, 27 and 30. God said to Israel, how long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me?
[00:30:16] Yes, I've heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me now. Tell them this as surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.
[00:30:30] You will all drop dead in the wilderness. Oh, okay. Choose life or choose death.
[00:30:37] It's not always drop dead because you complain against me. Every one of you who is 20 years old or older and was included in the registration will die.
[00:30:54] That was law. Thank God we are in mercy. Grace.
[00:30:59] You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb, son of that person, and Joshua, the son of Nun.
[00:31:11] So here, externally, the law. Externally. Externally. Tabernacle. Externally.
[00:31:20] The Bible says, choose life or choose death. Choose life.
[00:31:24] Choose life.
[00:31:26] Or choose death. Or choose death.
[00:31:30] See, we can have death and no life in our thinking. We can have death and no life in our believing.
[00:31:38] And that unbelief, not your actions, that unbelief will be a block, a block to the promises of God.
[00:31:52] Well, I've just not seen, you know, I've not ever experienced. I've not seen, you know, God's done nothing for me.
[00:32:00] What are you believing?
[00:32:02] What are you believing?
[00:32:05] I'm sorry, I'm trying to be nice with this.
[00:32:10] What are you believing?
[00:32:11] What are you believing?
[00:32:13] What are you thinking? What are you thinking?
[00:32:18] We are believers.
[00:32:20] We are believers. And all things are possible to those who believe.
[00:32:27] James 3:16.
[00:32:30] I love the book of James as well.
[00:32:32] Where there is envy and strife, there Is confusion and every evil work toxic, a blocker to peace?
[00:32:46] That's why we have to have thankfulness, gratitude, joy. Go to God in prayer for everything.
[00:32:53] What complaining does poisons your perspective. It magnifies problems instead of God's promises. It invites spiritual stagnation. It keeps you circling in the same wilderness. It opens the door to strife. See, it may start complaining, complaining and it may start murmuring. But guarantee it then will become to a state of strife where there is every evil work.
[00:33:19] It fractures relationships and breeds comparison. Complaining does. It blocks peace and faith because thanksgiving and complaining cannot coexist.
[00:33:32] So why is this shift so important?
[00:33:35] How do we move from complaint to contentment to gratitude to thankfulness? We recognize the state of our believing or thinking or heart. We recognize the root.
[00:33:50] Complaining reveals an ungrateful heart.
[00:33:54] We repent, which means change, change.
[00:34:00] Turn away from and we replace.
[00:34:05] We replace.
[00:34:07] We replace. Every time you want to complain, release a thank you, Lord.
[00:34:13] Release a thank you Lord. I trust you, God.
[00:34:17] Release a Hallelujah, Jesus.
[00:34:21] I believe this promise for that situation.
[00:34:25] See, it's not going to be the absence of.
[00:34:28] Of jacked up things. Trust me.
[00:34:33] It's not going to be the absence of things that, that yes, we may want to complain or you know, and I'm not saying don't go to wise counsel and talk to people about things. Okay? This is don't get stuck in your complaining. Don't get stuck in the criticizing. Don't dwell there. Don't get stuck.
[00:34:54] Because there are times that we may go to each other as brothers and sisters or go to pastors and wise counselors and say, you know what? I'm really struggling with this. Help me to understand.
[00:35:11] We rehearse his goodness. Remind your soul and your mind about what he's done before and what he can do again.
[00:35:20] Release gratitude out loud. Speak life instead of frustration.
[00:35:26] Amen. Limit that frustration.
[00:35:29] The result of this is when you replace murmuring with thanksgiving. Peace returns, perspective resets, provision multiplies, relationships heal. Faith strengthens.
[00:35:42] Thanksgiving does not deny reality. It declares who reigns over it.
[00:35:48] My God reigns over this situation.
[00:35:51] The Word of God reigns over this situation. The promises of God reigns over this situation.
[00:35:59] Because I don't see it yet. I'm not experiencing it yet. I'm not walking in it yet. But I know because I know, because I know he has said it. And I thank you Jesus that it is done. And I thank you Jesus that I will see your goodness in the land of the living.
[00:36:20] Complaining magnifies the problem. But gratitude magnifies God. And what you magnify becomes your experience.
[00:36:28] What you focus on will be your reality.
[00:36:34] The Israelites complained that kept them in circles. But Paul's thanksgiving turned a prison into a place of palace.
[00:36:42] One attitude prolonged captivity, the other produced breakthrough.
[00:36:48] See, we're not in captivity anymore. He has set the captives free.
[00:36:54] But you can be captive to your own thinking. And you can be captive to your own thinking. What are you saying? I'm doing it to myself.
[00:37:03] I can't do it to you.
[00:37:06] Jesus can't do it to you.
[00:37:14] Now this is a cool thing here. And then I'm going to start closing. I've got a few more notes, but this is a really cool thing.
[00:37:26] After Jesus's resurrection and the birth of the early church, one of the most consistent patterns in the New Testament is the apostles giving thanks for each other.
[00:37:43] The establishment of the early church, a consistent pattern was to give thanks for one another.
[00:37:50] In nearly every epistle, Paul, Peter and the others began with expressions of gratitude, not for things, but for people.
[00:38:03] Romans 1 and 8 I thank God through Jesus for all of you.
[00:38:07] First Corinthians 1 and 4 I always thank my God for you. Ephesians 1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you.
[00:38:17] Philippians 1:3 and 5 I thank my God every time I remember you.
[00:38:23] Colossians 1:3, 4 We always thank God when we pray for you.
[00:38:29] Colossians 1 oh, did that one first Thessalonians 1 and 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you.
[00:38:37] 2nd Thessalonians 1:3 we are bound to thank God always for you. Philemon1:4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers. 2nd Timothy 1 and 3 I thank God as night and day. I constantly remember you in my prayers.
[00:38:56] In the New Testament, more than 40 times, Thanksgiving is mentioned after Jesus resurrection. And at least 15 to 18 times, believers are specifically told or shown to give thanks for one another.
[00:39:13] Why is this so important?
[00:39:18] Because we are a body of Christ.
[00:39:22] See, I told you in the beginning. I said this. Jesus connects us to the Father.
[00:39:29] He also connects us to each other.
[00:39:33] Thankfulness keeps us connected to the Father and it also keeps us connected to each other.
[00:39:42] That is why. Because when we can learn to replace the complaining, the murmuring, the criticism, the strife, and begin to truly give God thanks for each other.
[00:40:02] How incredible is that?
[00:40:05] It builds unity.
[00:40:09] It honors the work of God and others.
[00:40:12] It reminds us that gratitude is not self focused, it's relational.
[00:40:18] When we can thank God for one another, we create a culture of Grace, a culture of care, a culture of unity and a celebration. Instead of criticism and comparing.
[00:40:34] I believe God wants us in this realm of thankfulness always.
[00:40:42] As I read, it is the will of God for our lives to live a life of thankfulness.
[00:40:49] The Bible is our instruction.
[00:40:54] So now I'm going to do a little recap and then release a couple of things here.
[00:41:01] Gratitude is God's will. It brings peace, it strengthens faith, and it expresses love for one another.
[00:41:09] Romans 12:1 says, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.
[00:41:23] Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.
[00:41:33] Our lifestyle of thanksgiving. We are the living sacrifices, the peace offerings, the thanksgiving sacrifices. It's no longer external, it's an internal thing.
[00:41:50] So here's the revelation church, what I believe to be the revelation of this message in this series, in this truth.
[00:42:02] Thanksgiving is not a moment, it's a mantle, it's a position, it's a lifestyle.
[00:42:12] When you live in thankfulness, you carry an atmosphere of heaven wherever you go.
[00:42:20] Gratitude is the rhythm of grace.
[00:42:25] It's heaven's heartbeat in the life of the believer.
[00:42:29] When you thank God in everything, you stay in his will.
[00:42:34] When you thank him in prayer, peace becomes your guard.
[00:42:37] When you thank him for people, unity becomes your culture.
[00:42:41] And when you live thankful, your whole life becomes worship. See, people say, how do I worship?
[00:42:50] Michelle does a fantastic job job when she teaches these worshipers up here. How do I worship? In spirit and in truth.
[00:43:00] Realize that you are a living sacrifice, that you are to be so on fire for God. You are supposed to be so burning that that complaint and criticism and jealousy and envy, it can't stay there because you are so burning on fire for God.
[00:43:22] God himself says, I want them to be on fire. Not lukewarm, not cold. And that's not just a position of what you do on this earth. It's not a position of how you speak. It's a position of how you live. Because you are shining your life, you are so, so in it, so transformed.
[00:43:46] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:43:50] When you live thankful, your whole life becomes worship.
[00:43:54] The enemy cannot steal from a heart full of thankfulness.
[00:43:59] Complaining opens the door to confusion, but thanksgiving opens the gate to glory.
[00:44:07] Gratitude keeps you focused, vertical when everything around you tries to pull you horizontal.
[00:44:14] Thanksgiving doesn't just change your mood, it changes your atmosphere. It shifts, battles, silences the accuser and releases the fragrance of Christ through your life.
[00:44:29] So today, lift your heads Lift your hearts, renew your mind and declare, I am a living sacrifice of thanksgiving.
[00:44:45] My gratitude is my worship.
[00:44:48] My praise is my warfare.
[00:44:51] My thankfulness is my testimony.
[00:44:55] I'm not one that just gives thanks in moments.
[00:44:59] I will live thankful as a way of life.
[00:45:03] So I want everyone to stand. Let's stand, please.
[00:45:06] This morning, and I want you to declare this morning, God's given us the power of life and death in our tongues. This is powerful. When we release declarations, when we release a declaration, we are acknowledging what the promises of God are. We are acknowledging truth.
[00:45:31] So, church, repeat after me.
[00:45:35] I choose gratitude over grumbling.
[00:45:40] I choose praise over pressure.
[00:45:45] I choose thanksgiving over turmoil.
[00:45:51] I refuse to let my mouth magnify my mountain.
[00:46:00] I will let my Thanksgiving magnify my God.
[00:46:08] So, God, thank you for being the life giver.
[00:46:15] Thank you for being the renewer.
[00:46:20] Thank you for being the restorer.
[00:46:25] Thank you for being the reviver.
[00:46:29] Thank you that my marriage is whole.
[00:46:33] Thank you that you are giving me my heart's desire.
[00:46:40] Thank you that I have purpose.
[00:46:44] Thank you that I am worthy.
[00:46:48] Thank you that I can just say, thank you, Lord, that you are my king, you are my healer, you are my God, and I thank you.
[00:47:09] Now, before we pray, and if you want prayer, as I close out this series, we'll have a couple of the ministers come up first.
[00:47:20] But if you want prayer this morning, we don't have any announcements this morning, so if you want to leave during the prayer and worship, you are so welcome to.
[00:47:32] But I just want to release this word over your life.
[00:47:39] This is the hour says the Lord.
[00:47:44] We're grateful.
[00:47:45] Hearts will carry great power.
[00:47:50] Those who live thankful will walk in overflow, will experience overflow.
[00:47:58] Those who magnify me in small things will see miracles in great things.
[00:48:08] Thanksgiving will open doors that striving never could.
[00:48:16] So get into the habit to release your voice.
[00:48:21] No longer do you have to take anything that is contrary to the word of God.
[00:48:28] You have the authority to speak to those things and see those things change.
[00:48:36] And I get it. Sometimes it's weird. Sometimes it's like. Like, nope, that's not who I am.
[00:48:44] Nope, I am worthy.
[00:48:47] Nope, My children are blessed. Nope, that's not what my God says.
[00:48:55] I am loved.
[00:49:01] So lift your voice, bless his name, and watch him do only what he can do.
[00:49:11] And so, in this moment, we're going to close out in a final prayer, and I want to invite some of the ministers forward to receive you in prayer again. If you need to go, you're welcome to. But we'd love to have you stay and have a coffee and fellowship, but if you need prayer, I'd like to invite you to come forward and I'm just going to close out the sermon in prayer and release a blessing to God.
[00:49:43] Father, I thank you for this message.
[00:49:46] I thank you for your truth. I thank you for your word that is instructions and his life.
[00:49:53] Father, I thank you for all that you have shown me in your word. I thank you for the revelation. I thank you for for my heart being changed, Father. My mind being changed. Father, I thank you Father, for reviving me, Lord Father, we thank you for who you are.
[00:50:15] We thank you for what you've done. We thank you for Jesus. I thank you for every person that you have placed in our lives. I thank you for every person that you have brought and are bringing to World Changers. Father, make us a people who live grateful.
[00:50:37] Thank you Father that we are a people that carry the fragrance of thanksgiving everywhere we go.
[00:50:43] That we shine bright for your kingdom.
[00:50:47] Father, I thank you that we live as living sacrifices.
[00:50:56] We are holy and we are yours, Father.
[00:51:01] And my prayer is, Lord, that you teach us to turn complaint into worship when moments of pressure come that that's the very place that we need to praise in difficult moments, Lord, let them be monuments of thanksgiving, monuments of how your goodness came. Monuments, Lord, of what you did and how you moved.
[00:51:31] Let our homes and our words and our lives become sanctuaries of gratitude, Father and may thanksgiving be our lifestyle, our language and our legacy.
[00:51:46] And it's in Jesus name we pray.
[00:51:49] Amen and Amen and Amen.
[00:51:52] Thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchangers Life. Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team. And may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.
